TRANSPORTATION: A car is a must to tour the beautiful Aquitaine region and its rich coastline. Plus, since it's sandwiched between France and Spain, your own set of wheels allows for a bevy of options to soak up it cultural history.

ATTITUDE: After competing at Trestles, the lineups in France will feel downright friendly. The French are stoked on the arrival of both the men's and women's elite Tours coming to town, the latter having just arrived in 2011. Maybe things will change once the lineup is more consistently crowded but for now the region is very come-one-come-all.

THE WAVE: Landes is known for emerald green barrels. The Roxy Pro France is the women's chance to have a Jeffreys Bay-esque competition, combining the high-performance surfing they showed off at Trestles with the graceful barrel riding on display in Fiji.

APRES SURF: Although the Aquitaine region is mostly filled with sleepy villages, they come to life when the Tour comes to town. With some of the best food and wine in the world, there's plenty to do when the surf's not on.

WOMEN'S WORLD TOUR HISTORY: This event marked a new chapter for the ASP Women's World Tour in 2011 and saw then-four-time World Champion Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) win the inaugural contest. That same year, Carissa Moore (HAW) solidified her maiden ASP World Title at the event. The Australians have a monopoly on the French event. Gilmore repeated in France in 2012 and Sally Fitzgibbons is the current defending champion.